The Best Times
by Clintasha4evr
Summary: High School AU: After living in Russia for a year and a half, 17 year old Natasha Romanoff returns to her old home in New York City where she is enrolled back in her old high school and reunited with her former best friend Clint Barton. But a lot of things have changed since she left, and Natasha finds it hard to readjust now that she is no longer the only girl in Clint's life...
1. Prologue

**Hello everyone! Yes, I have started writing an Avengers high school AU, something I thought I'd never do… I know that I promised you guys the story you voted for, Shattered, but then I realized how incredibly similar it was to another story that I'm currently reading on this site, and I don't want anyone to think I'm copying her AMAZING work. So, while I'm tweaking the story line, I decided to write this. Pretty much, this is Clint/Natasha-centric story that includes all the Avengers and their love interests, as well as a few other familiar characters. Not sure how many people out there like high school fics, but I guess I'm about to find out. Please review and let me know if you like it. If I get at least 5 reviews I'll post the first chapter.**

* * *

**Prologue**

Clint sat alone at his lunch table trying to study for his World History final when someone suddenly came up behind him and placed their hands over his eyes.

"Guess who?" She whispered in his ear.

"Hmmm…" He said with a smirk. "Lindsay Lohan?"

"Asshole." Natasha muttered, removing her hands from his eyes so that she could punch him in the shoulder before sitting down.

"Well, you do have red hair." He pointed out, dodging another punch.

"Keep on talking, Barton. See what happens." She threatened.

"I'm just messing with you." Clint laughed. "What's got you in such a bad mood?"

"I just got a text from my mom." Natasha muttered angrily. "She got a promotion."

"That's great, isn't it?" He asked in confusion.

"Yeah, it's awesome. She worked really hard for this job."

"So what's the problem?"

"It's in Russia." She grumbled.

"Russia!?" Clint exclaimed. "So this means you're moving?"

"Yup." Natasha sighed. "All the way to Mother fucking Russia. It sucks."

"You think? Nat, you've been my only friend since kindergarten. Who the hell am I supposed to hang out with if you're gone?" He wondered.

"Well, I guess you're gonna have to make new friends." She said bluntly.

"Right." He grumbled with a hint of anger.

"Hey, don't get pissed at me. It's not my fault." Natasha said, crossing her arms.

"I'm not pissed." Clint sighed. "When are you leaving?"

"Not till school lets out. So, a couple of weeks." She explained.

"You're not going to get to at least spend the summer here?"

"Nope."

"But what about all the crazy shit we were gonna do?" He whined.

"I guess you'll have to do it by yourself." She shrugged.

"Like it'll be any fun alone." Clint pouted.

"Well then sit on your ass and do nothing all summer, just stop acting like a baby!" Natasha exclaimed, turning her face away from him. "It's not like you're moving to fucking Russia."

"I thought you were _from_ Russia?" He said in confusion.

"Just because I was born there doesn't mean I want to live there ya moron." She muttered, her voice cracking slightly.

"Hey, Nat? Are you alright?" Clint said softly, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"No, I'm not fucking alright!" She shook his hand off and spun around to face him, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Jesus, Natasha, come here." He mumbled, pulling her into his arms and hugging her.

"What the hell am I going to do?" She said with a sniffle as she pressed her face into his chest.

"Well," Clint sighed, holding her away from him so that he could look at her. "I guess you're going to move to Russia."

"Like hell I am!" Natasha exclaimed.

"You have to. Like you said, your mom worked hard for this promotion." He reminded her grudgingly.

"Weren't you the one that was just complaining about how he would have no friends if I left?" She asked.

"Yeah, I was." He admitted. "But maybe I could make new friends, like you said."

"Really? You'd actually try to make friends?" She said doubtfully.

"Only if you promised to do the same in Russia."

"Even if I did promise you that, how would you know if I actually follow through?" Natasha questioned.

"I would know because you would tell me through the text messages and emails and letters I know you're going to write me every day." He smiled.

She sighed.

"So this shit is really going to happen. I'm going to move to Russia."

"Well don't get all gloomy now! We've still got a couple of weeks before you leave, so let's make the most of them." Clint said optimistically. "Sound good?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled, leaning over to nudge his shoulder.

"Sounds awesome. Let's start now."

"Okay, what do you want to do?" He wondered, almost positive that he already knew the answer.

"What do you think?" She rolled her eyes.

"Skip fourth period and go to Central Park." He replied.

"If you already knew then why were you wasting time asking me?" She said, jumping out of her seat and grabbed her bag. "Let's go!"

* * *

**A few weeks later…**

Natasha stood by the cab that was going to take her and her mother to the airport and tapped her foot anxiously. Clint had sworn that he would meet her here for a final farewell, but it was starting to look like he may not make it in time.

"Natasha, dear, we need to get going soon or we're going to miss our flight." Her mother said as she walked out of their brownstone for the final time and locked the door behind her.

"Just a few more minutes, mom. He should be here any second." She said, desperately looking down the street for her best friend.

A few moments later, Clint came shooting down the sidewalk on his bike and skidded to halt right in front of her. Natasha felt her heart flutter in relief.

"Hey…" He said breathlessly.

"Hey." She replied, crossing her arms in disapproval. "You're late."

"Sorry," He smiled sheepishly. "I couldn't find your going-away present."

"My what?" She raised an eyebrow as Clint pulled a small black box out of his pocket and handed it to her. "What the hell is this?"

"Open it and find out." He rolled his eyes.

Natasha did as he said and slid the lid off the small box to reveal a thin, silver chain with an arrow connecting it in the center.

"What's this for?" She asked, removing the necklace from the box and fastening it around her neck.

"It's so you don't forget about me." He explained.

She laughed.

"How could I forget about you? You were such a big pain in my ass I'm pretty sure you left a scar."

"Nice one." He chuckled as he drew her in for a hug.

"Don't make friends with losers." Natasha warned him.

"What, like you?" He said playfully, earning a punch in the shoulder.

"Jerk." She muttered.

"I sure am gonna miss the way you physically and verbally abuse me." Clint sighed.

"Me too." She agreed with a smirk.

"Natasha, say goodbye to Clint. We really need to go!" Her mother yelled out the cab window.

"Well, I guess this is it." He said, trying to prevent tears from forming in his eyes.

"Yeah." Natasha sniffled as a tear slid down her cheek.

Clint threw his arms around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Bye." He whispered.

"Bye." She said back as she pulled away from him and began getting in the cab.

"Call me when you get there."

"I will." She promised.

"Natasha!" He stopped her just before she shut the cab door.

"What?"

Clint stood there for a moment, unsure of what exactly it was he wanted to say to her.

"I…uh…" He stuttered, scratching his head nervously. "I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you, too." She smiled at him one last time before closing the door and waving goodbye out the window as the yellow cab carried his only friend away.

Only when the taxi had driven out of sight did Clint finally allow the tears to run freely down his face.

* * *

**Awwww, so sad, right? Well, it doesn't stay that way! Trust me, the prologue makes the first chapter soooo awesome! You'll love it, I promise! Well, until then, thanks for reading/following/favoriting/reviewing and TTFN!**


	2. New Girl

**Well, I got some reviews! As promised, here's the first official chapter. Hope you like it. **

**Chapter 1-New Girl**

**1 ½ years later…**

"Natasha Romanoff, if you don't get your butt out of bed you'll be late for school!" Her mother yelled from outside her door.

"Five more minutes…" Natasha called back tiredly.

"Get up now or I'm coming in there!" Ms. Romanoff warned.

"No!" She whined.

"Okay, fine, have it your way." She heard her door creak open, followed by the sound of something hitting the ground.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Natasha asked as she sat up and stretched.

"I'm tripping over all these boxes, that's what. We moved back over a week ago and you've barely unpacked a thing!" Her mother exclaimed.

"I've been busy." She mumbled, climbing out of bed and making her way to her bathroom.

"Okay then." Ms. Romanoff sighed. "So, are you excited to back to your old school and see all your old friends?"

"If by excited you mean indifferent, then yes, I'm thrilled." Natasha shrugged.

"Oh, c'mon hon. At least _try_ to have a positive outlook on this." Her mother encouraged her. "I thought you were happy we'd moved back to New York?"

"I am, mom, really." She shot her a reassuring smile. "It's just that I'm gonna be the new girl again and that's kind of an undesirable position to be in."

"Natasha, sweetie, you're going to the same exact high school you went to as a freshman. All the same people will be there and you already know the school's layout." Ms. Romanoff said comfortingly. "I don't see how that makes you the 'new girl.'"

Natasha gave an irritated huff and began brushing her teeth.

"You wouldn't understand."

"You're right. I don't understand." Her mother sighed. "I'm going to go get you some breakfast."

Once Ms. Romanoff had left, Natasha spit into the sink and continued to get ready for the day. As she changed out of her PJs and did her hair and makeup, she realized how different things were going to be this year. Despite going back to the same high school and even living in the same brownstone they'd left behind a year and a half ago, Natasha knew that nothing would be as it had been before. In fact, a lot of things had changed since she'd moved away.

She was thinner than she used to be with curves that made other girls shoot her glares of envy when they passed her on the street. She was no longer a tomboy either, having grown accustomed to wearing skirts, dresses, and cardigans during her time away.

Other than her physical alterations, Natasha was now more social. In Russia, she had befriended not one, but six girls, as well as a couple guys. Even though she had done this so her mother wouldn't worry about her, she had really grown to like her new friends, not that she didn't miss the one friend she'd left behind in New York.

Clint. Of all the things that had changed once she'd moved, Natasha's relationship with her former best friend was the most significant. About three months after she'd left, she and Clint had gone from writing, emailing, and texting every day to not communicating at all. The long distance and time difference had been more of a challenge than they'd expected, so they just…grew apart.

If she was excited about anything today, it would probably be that she might see him for the first time in a year and a half. However, with that excitement came anxiety. What would he think of the new her? What changes had taken place in his life that she'd missed? Would he still be the same loner that sat by himself at lunch, or did he take her advice and make new friends?

"Natalia Romanova!" Her mother yelling her name in Russian pulled her from her thoughts. "Come on, it's almost time for you to go!"

"Coming!" She exclaimed, glancing at herself in the mirror one final time before dashing out of the bathroom and grabbing her bag off her desk. When she made it down the stairs, her mother was there waiting for her with a granola bar and a travel mug of coffee.

"You'll have to eat on your way to school; otherwise you're going to be late." She said as she handed her daughter her breakfast.

"Thanks." Natasha smiled and pecked her mom on the cheek before walking down the hall and out the front door.

"Have a good day!" Ms. Romanoff called after her.

"Not likely!" Natasha replied over her shoulder. She heard her mother say something else, but she was too far away to clearly hear it. So, she began to sip on her coffee and munch on her granola bar as she walked the five blocks that separated her house from her old high school.

When the school came into view, Natasha felt her stomach flip nervously. Classes had been in session for more than two weeks now, so she really was going to be the New Girl. Everyone was going to be overly friendly to her and eager to become her new BFF, only so they could stab her in the back later on. It sure would be nice if she could find Clint. Then she'd at least have _one_ trustworthy friend…

The blaring sound of a car horn pulled Natasha from her thoughts as a red convertible whizzed past her, missing her by inches. She watched as the car pulled into the school's small parking lot where the few rich and privileged students who could afford to have a car in New York parked. When she passed the lot, she noticed a lanky brunette boy climbing out of the convertible that had nearly flattened her.

"Hey, hotshot!" She yelled at him. "Where'd you learn to drive?"

The boy turned his head in her direction, taking a moment to register what she was saying when it suddenly clicked for him.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He shrugged.

"Idiot." Natasha muttered, rolling her eyes in frustration.

"Hey, wait up!" The boy she'd just yelled at called as he chased after her.

She tried to ignore him and keep walking, but he didn't take the hint and caught up to her anyways.

"I haven't seen you around before." He said a little breathlessly.

"You don't say?" Natasha said sarcastically, unhappy that her day was beginning on such a poor note.

"You new here?" The boy asked.

"Maybe." She replied.

"That's awfully cryptic." He smirked.

"That's what I was going for."

"Well, in any case, allow me to introduce myself." He stepped in front of her and held out his hand. "My name is Tony. Tony Stark."

"Oh," Natasha said in realization. "That explains it."

"Explains what?" Tony asked, retracting his hand.

"Nothing." She smirked, walking past him and into the school building. She knew _exactly _who Tony Stark was, and he wasn't the type of person she wanted to associate herself with. In fact, she and Clint used to trash him whenever his name came up. He was arrogant, narcissistic, and usually inconsiderate, but he often got away with everything because his father was Howard Stark. Guess that's what happens when your daddy is a billionaire…

"Hey Red!" Tony called after her. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

"Nope." Natasha said with a teasing glance over her shoulder. Of all the people she had to bump into on her first day back, it had to be _him_. If this was the kind of luck she was having, then junior year could end up being more difficult than she'd originally thought.

* * *

Tony stared after the peculiar red head he'd had the strange pleasure of meeting as she walked down the hall and into the principal's office.

"Damn." He muttered to himself. She was _definitely_ a feisty one.

"What are you looking at?" Steve's voice suddenly asked from behind him.

"Just the new girl." Tony shrugged before turning to face his friend.

"There's a new girl?" The football team captain asked with genuine curiosity. "Where?"

"You just missed her." He told him. "But let me tell you, she is _hot_!"

"Tony, you have a girlfriend." Steve reminded him as he began to move towards his first period.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I don't _notice_ other girls. 'I'm not buying anything, I'm just window shopping' as Pepper would put it."

"Whatever, just don't let Pepper catch you 'window shopping' again. We _all_ remember what happened last time…"

"Okay, okay, I get it. No need to dredge up the past." Tony replied quickly, his face turning a little red.

"I'll see you at lunch." Steve waved to him as he walked off towards his art class.

"Later." Tony waved back before hurrying towards his own class. He needed to get ready to figure out everything he could about the mysterious new girl before lunch.

* * *

"Well, Ms. Romanoff, you have a very impressive transcript." Principal Jackson commented as he flipped through her file from the other side of his desk. "I'm glad that you've decided to take a more advanced work load now that you're back with us."

"Always looking for a challenge." Natasha told the large, bald man with a fake smile.

"Well, you're one of many here at the School of Health Integrity, Engineering, Linguistics, and Democracy." The principal informed her proudly.

"I see the name of this place is still a mouthful." She said, shaking her head.

"We're working on it." Jackson shrugged before handing her a piece of paper. "Well, here's your schedule. If you need anything else, feel free to stop by the guidance office at any time."

"Thanks." Natasha stood up to leave.

"Have a wonderful first day back, Ms. Romanoff." Principal Jackson opened his office door for her and allowed her to walk out. "Good luck."

As soon as the door closed behind her, Natasha unfolded the piece of paper that contained her schedule and read through it. Her first period was Art III.

"Thank God." She muttered, happy that she had a more laid back class for first period. This day was starting to look better already.

As she walked towards the Arts hallway, she found the school eerily empty. Class had already started and she could hear teachers lecturing their classes through the closed doors when she walked past them. After a few minutes of walking through the abandoned halls, she finally found her class. Rom 319, Visual Arts III with Mrs. Pierce. Softly, she knocked on the door and waited until it swung open to reveal an overly friendly looking blonde girl.

"Hi." The girl said with a smile. "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for Mrs. Pierce. I'm supposed to be in her first period." Natasha told her.

"Mrs. Pierce, the new girl is here." The blonde called over her shoulder as she opened the door further so Natasha could come inside. As soon as she entered the room, the entire class stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at her, causing a nervous redness to color her face.

"Everyone get back to work." A young brunette woman ordered before walking towards her with a smile. "Hello, you must be Natasha." She said, reaching out to shake her hand. "I'm Mrs. Pierce, and I'm very glad that you'll be joining my class."

"It's nice to meet you." Natasha smiled.

"Follow me. I have a seat ready for you right over here." Mrs. Pierce led her towards a vacant stool that was nearest to the far side of the room. "This is where you're going to sit for the rest of the semester. I've already got you the materials you'll be needing for the project we've been working on, but I have a few things that I need to get done, so I'm going to allow this delightful young man to explain what to do." She said, gesturing to the boy that was sitting next to her. "If you have any questions, you can ask him."

"Thank you." Natasha said gratefully before Mrs. Pierce walked away.

"Hey." The boy that Mrs. Pierce had appointed to get her caught up smiled at her and held out his hand. "My name is Steve."

"I'm Natasha." She took his hand and shook it once.

"Well, Natasha, let's get you caught up. We've just started working on perspective drawings, so all we're doing for our first project is drawing three dimensional shapes like this." He showed her his paper. "Then all we do is use colored pencils to shade it accordingly."

"Seems simple enough." She shrugged. "Thanks."

"Happy to help." Steve smiled again as he continued to work on his own drawing while Natasha began on hers.

As she set up her picture and began to draw straight lines with her ruler, she noticed two blonde girls glancing over at her and Steve and giggling. One of the blondes had been the one to answer the door and announce to the whole class that 'the new girl was here.'

"Ignore them." Steve nudged her shoulder. "They're just curious."

"Friends of yours?" Natasha assumed.

"Yeah." He nodded. "The girl on the left is dating one of my friends. She's really nice."

"And the other is your girlfriend?"

He looked at her with wide eyes.

"Just a guess." She said innocently.

"Actually, no, she's not." Steve mumbled in embarrassment. "Not yet."

"Oh," Natasha understood. "Waiting to make your move."

"Yeah." He blushed.

"That's sweet." She smiled.

For the rest of the period, the two made small talk about things that went on around the school, as well as upcoming sporting events. She found out that Steve was the captain of the football team and that they're homecoming game was coming up in a few weeks.

"You should come to the dance. It'd be a good way for you to get to know people." He told her.

"I'll check my calendar." She promised.

The bell rang a few minutes later and Natasha quickly gathered her things.

"What's your next class?" Steve asked.

"Advanced Martial Arts." She replied.

"I'm heading that way. I've got weight lifting next. We can walk together."

"Okay." Natasha agreed, smiling when Steve opened the door for her and allowed her to exit the room before him.

"So, where did you move here from?" He asked as they began to make their way down the hallway.

"Russia." She replied. "My mom got a promotion about a year and a half ago so we had to transfer there. We just moved back in August."

"That's pretty cool. Can you speak Russian?" He wondered.

"Да. Я свободно с тех пор, как я было шесть." She said, smirking when she saw Steve's eyes widen in confusion.

"What does that mean?"

"I said, 'Yes. I've been fluent since I was six.'"

"Oh." He laughed before stopping in front of a set of double doors. "Well, this is me. Martial arts should be a few doors down."

"Thanks for walking with me." Natasha said gratefully. "It was really nice meeting you."

"Yeah. I'll see you around." He waved goodbye as he entered the weight lifting room.

Once he was gone, she continued down the hall to her own class, happy that she was able to meet at least _one_ person she could tolerate.

* * *

"Steve!" Thor boomed as he entered the weight lifting room. "Who was that I saw you talking to?"

"Oh, that was Natasha. She's new." Steve explained as his good friend and fellow teammate joined him in lifting dumbbells.

"And you've befriended her?" Thor continued to question him.

"I talked to her. She sits next to me in art." He explained.

"Tony was speaking of a mysterious new girl he nearly ran over with his car this morning."

"What? Tony almost hit her?" Steve exclaimed.

"That's what he said. He probably didn't make a very good first impression…" Thor said thoughtfully.

"I'll say."

"So, is she nice?" He asked.

"Yeah. She's pretty cool as far as I can see." Steve nodded.

"Does she have lunch with us? Perhaps she could sit at our table." Thor inquired.

"You know, I didn't think to ask when she had lunch." Steve recalled.

"Well, I guess we'll have to wait and see." The blonde shrugged as he continued to lift his dumbbells.

"I guess we will." Steve agreed.

* * *

Natasha dabbed the sweat from her forehead as she changed out of her workout clothes and back into her school clothes. Martial arts had gone pretty well. No one had tried to talk to her, which she considered to be a good thing, and it looked as though she'd impressed her instructor with her superior skills. Now she was off to AP Calculus.

"At least the day is half over." She muttered to herself, gathering the rest of her belongings and exiting the room. She walked down the hall towards the 600 wing where the math classes were located, dragging her feet all the way there as a feeling of dread spread through her. She _hated_ calculus.

"Hey, Natasha!" Steve's familiar voice sounded from behind her, causing her to glance over her shoulder.

"Hey." She smiled.

"How was martial arts?"

"Fine I suppose." She shrugged.

"I meant to ask you earlier, when do you have lunch?" Steve asked curiously.

"After third period."

"Really? Me too! You're welcome to sit with me and my friends today if you'd like."

"Thanks Steve, that's really nice of you." Natasha said appreciatively.

"Great. I'll see you then." He said happily, waving as he turned down an adjoining hallway.

"See ya." She waved back before continuing on until she reached the 600 wing. When she finally found her class she walked in and took a seat near the back, pulling materials out of her bag as other students began to enter the room.

"Well, well. Look who we have here." Someone suddenly said to her.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Natasha muttered, looking up to find none other than Tony Stark standing right in front of her desk.

"How's it going Red?" He asked with an amused smirk on his face, taking a seat at the desk in front of her.

"Don't call me that." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't have to if you'd just tell me your name." Tony said innocently.

"Please leave me alone." She said patiently.

"Not until you tell me your name." He teased.

Natasha opened her mouth and was about to tell him to fuck off when a strawberry blonde girl walked up to them and stood between her and Tony's desks.

"Excuse me, is he bothering you?" She asked with a nod towards Tony.

"As a matter of fact, he is." Natasha told her.

Without a second's hesitation, the girl turned around and smacked him on the side of the head.

"Ow! C'mon, Pep!" Tony whined.

"Shut up and leave the poor girl alone." She ordered, taking a seat next to him.

"Hey," Another girl suddenly walked up and sat down next to Natasha. "I just saw you smack Tony. What'd I miss?"

"He's just being obnoxious." The strawberry blonde told her.

"Oh." The newcomer said in understanding before turning to Natasha and giving her a warm smile. "Hi, I'm Sharon."

"Hi." She smiled back. "I'm Natasha."

"Ha!" Tony spun around in his seat and pointed at her. "So it's Natasha, is it?"

"Oh, shut it Tony." The girl sitting next to him shot him a glare. "Please, ignore my boyfriend's poor manners."

"Boyfriend?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, I don't get it either." Sharon whispered to her.

"Well, at least I have a boyfriend." The first girl said, causing Sharon to scowl. "Oh, and I'm Pepper by the way."

"Nice to meet you both." Natasha smiled again, narrowing her eyes as she got a closer look at Sharon. "Hey, aren't you in my first period?"

"Oh, yeah! Mrs. Pierce's Art III, right? You sat next to Steve?"

"Yep." Natasha nodded, remembering that Sharon had been one of the two blonde girls that was staring and giggling at her and Steve.

"Wait, you met Steve?" Tony suddenly interrupted.

"Yeah. He seems like a great guy." She told him.

"Oh, he _is_!" Sharon agreed.

"If you couldn't guess, Sharon here has a major crush on Steve." Pepper laughed, earning another scowl from her friend.

"Well, he offered to let me sit with him and his friends at lunch today." Natasha informed them.

"Then I guess you're going to be the newest addition to our table." Sharon told her. "Me, Pepper, Tony, Steve, and a few others, all sit at the same table."

"Cool." Natasha smiled.

"Good morning, everyone." Mrs. Brown, their teacher, greeted the class as she walked in the door.

"Morning." The class mumbled apathetically.

"Please take out your homework and pass it to the front, then turn to page 350 in your textbooks." She told everyone before settling her gaze on Natasha. "Natasha, I'll be getting your textbook tomorrow, so for now you can share with Sharon."

Sharon moved her desk closer to hers and put her book between them. For the rest of the period, Natasha struggled to keep up with what Mrs. Brown was teaching, but with the help of Sharon, Pepper, and occasionally Tony, she was able to pull through. As soon as the bell rang, everyone quickly packed their bags and made a beeline for the cafeteria.

"We usually use the restroom before lunch." Pepper told her as they walked out of the room. "You can go on ahead with Tony if you'd like."

"No thanks." Natasha said quickly. "I'll just go with you guys."

"I'm hurt, Red." Tony said, placing his hand on his heart.

"Get a move on, Tony, we'll catch up with you later." Pepper shooed him down the hall.

"See you soon." He waved to them before dashing down the hall towards the cafeteria.

Once he was gone, the three girls found the nearest bathroom and walked inside to the nearest mirror.

"So Natasha," Sharon got her attention as she began combing through her hair. "Where'd you move here from?"

"Russia."

"Wow. This must be quite an adjustment for you to make, moving to the other side of the world." Pepper said in admiration.

"Actually it's not so bad. I used to live in New York before we moved. We just got back a few weeks ago." Natasha told them.

"Oh, where did you live?" Sharon asked.

"Same place I used to. My mom and I have a brownstone five blocks from here." She replied.

"How long ago did you move to Russia?" Pepper wondered.

"About a year and a half ago."

"That would mean you were a freshmen before moved." She said thoughtfully. "You didn't go to school here, did you?"

"Actually, I did."

"Really? We never saw you around before." Sharon informed her.

"I kept to myself." Natasha shrugged.

"I'm just surprised we never ran into each other. This school isn't _that_ big…" Pepper told her.

"It's actually not that surprising." Sharon chimed in. "We didn't know Clint went to this school until we met him at the beginning of sophomore year."

The mention of her former best friend's name caused Natasha's head to snap in their direction.

"Who's Clint?" She asked curiosity.

"Oh, Clint Barton, he's a really good friend of ours." Pepper explained. "He sits with us at lunch. We'll introduce you."

"Okay." Natasha said happily before following her new friends from the bathroom with a sly grin. Clint was in for one hell of a surprise.

* * *

Clint entered the lunch room casually and made his way over to the table he sat at with his group of friends. When he got there, he plopped down in his usual seat and allowed his head to droop until it hit the table.

"What's wrong, Clint?" Steve asked.

"Nothing. I've just been having a shitty day." He replied.

"How so?" Bruce asked from the seat across from him.

"Well, I failed my Pre-Cal test, I got a C on my English project, and I have an _awful_ headache." Clint mumbled. "I think I'm going to go home."

"No! You can't leave!" Tony suddenly exclaimed as he took a seat next to Bruce.

"Why not?" Clint groaned.

"Because, you have to meet the new girl." Stark wagged his eyebrows and smiled.

"There's a new girl?"

"Uh, yeah! Where the hell have you been all day? It's all everyone is talking about!" Tony said excitedly. "And let me tell you, Barton, she is H-O-T _hot_!"

"Does this mysterious, hot, new girl have a name?" Clint wondered.

"Why don't you ask her yourself." Steve said, nodding towards the door of the cafeteria. "Here she comes with Pepper and Sharon now."

Curiously, Clint began to turn around in his seat so he could get a look at this new girl, but he felt Tony's foot collide with his shin and shot his friend a deadly glare.

"What the hell was that for?"

"You can't just turn around and start staring at her." Tony rolled his eyes. "She'll think you're creepy."

"I just want to see what she looks like." Clint sighed.

"Just wait until she sits down before you start ogling her."

"I wasn't going to ogle her…" He muttered, listening as the approaching footsteps of the three girls grew closer and closer until they finally stopped right behind him.

"Hey guys." He heard Pepper say. "There's someone that we'd like you to meet."

Ignoring everything that Tony had just told him, Clint began to turn in his seat so he could face the new girl while Pepper made introductions. But before he could make it half way around, a pair of dainty hands suddenly reached in front of him and covered his eyes.

"Guess who?"

* * *

**So what do you think? Is it a decent high school fic so far? I've got a lot of different things I want to put these guys through, so if you're interested please let me know! **

**IF I GET UP TO 10 REVIEWS THEN I'LL UPDATE AGAIN!**


	3. Best Friends

**Wow! Ya'll caught me off guard with all the awesome reviews! That's why it took me so long to finish…well, that and I've been slammed with homework. I've got an honors paper due Sunday that I just started, so I've been working on that mostly. Anyways, I finally finished the second chapter, so please let me know if you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 2-Best Friends**

Clint's mouth fell open as the strikingly familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Oh my God!" He exclaimed with a huge smile on his face as he removed her hands from his eyes and turned around to face her. "Nat!"

"Hey!" She exclaimed with an excited grin.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Clint asked as he pulled her into a bone-crushing hug.

"My mom got transferred back to New York." Natasha told him.

"And you didn't think to tell me that?"

"What, and ruin the surprise? I don't think so." She laughed.

"Speaking of surprises, what the hell happened to you?" He asked, looking at her with raised eyebrows. "You look like a…"

"Like a what?"

"Like a _girl_. I mean really, are you actually wearing a skirt?"

"You should talk Mr. Polo Shirt." Natasha replied, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "What happened to your old T-shirts and ripped jeans?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Clint said thoughtfully before getting punched in the shoulder. "You're still abusive I see."

"And you're still an asshole." She smirked.

"Excuse me," Tony suddenly cut in. "Do you two know each other?"

"Do we know each other?" Natasha scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Are you kidding? Dude, this is Natasha. You know, my best friend?" Clint explained.

"Whoa, wait, this is _Natasha_?" Tony said with wide eyes, glancing back and forth between the two. "_You're_ Natasha!"

"Yes…" She said in confusion.

"Damn, you're a lot prettier than Barton described you." He muttered.

"Hello! I'm standing right here!" Pepper suddenly exclaimed.

"I said she was pretty, Pep, not that she was prettier than you." Tony assured his girlfriend, pecking her on the cheek as she sat down next to him.

"Nice save." Clint laughed, plopping back down in his own chair and gesturing for Natasha to join him.

"So, you talked about me?" She gave him an accusing look as she took a seat.

"Well, I uhhh…talked about you some." He stuttered.

"Haha! Yeah right! He talked about you _all the time_." Tony informed her, causing Clint to blush slightly. "You should have seen him when Pepper first got him to sit with us last year. He was _such_ a loner!"

"Tony, shut up." Steve ordered him seriously, noticing Clint's embarrassment.

"What? It's true. Ow!" Stark promptly shut his mouth, but not without shooting Steve a dirty look.

"That doesn't surprise me." Natasha shrugged.

"Oh, right. I should introduce you to everyone." Clint said with sudden realization. "You've already met Tony, Steve, Sharon, and Pepper."

"Mhm." She nodded.

"So that leaves Bruce, Betty, Thor, and Jane." He told her, pointing to each of his remaining friends as he spoke their names.

"Nice to meet you all." Natasha said with a smile and a wave.

"The pleasure is ours!" Thor boomed with a toothy grin.

"So Natasha, how did you and Clint meet?" Sharon asked from her seat next to Steve.

"Well, I moved here from Russia for the first time in 2001. I was six at the time and ended up in Clint's kindergarten class." She explained.

"We were also in the same third, fourth, and fifth grade classes." Clint continued. "We went to school together up until she moved after freshmen year."

"Why did you move?" Jane wondered.

"My mom got promoted, which meant she had to transfer to Russia." Natasha told her.

"What does your mother do?"

"She's a financial analyst."

"And what about your father?" Pepper suddenly cut in.

"My dad left shortly after we moved here the first time. I haven't seen him since." Natasha said quietly.

An awkward silence settled over the group for a few moments when the bell suddenly rang and erased all the tension.

_"Thank God."_ Clint thought to himself as he quickly stood up.

"Well, we should get going." Pepper said, linking arms with Sharon and dragging her towards the door. "We'll see you tomorrow, Natasha."

"See ya." Natasha shot them a small smile before they made a beeline for the door.

"So, what's your fourth period?" Clint asked her, throwing his arm around her shoulder just like he used to.

"AP Physics with Calvert." She told him, scrunching up her nose in distaste. "Not sure why I signed up for it."

"Well, don't be too disappointed. At least you'll have a class with me." He smirked.

"Really? You have Physics fourth period?" Natasha asked excitedly.

"Yup. It's the only AP class I understand, mostly because of archery."

"You're still into that?"

"Duh!" Clint exclaimed. Ever since he was young, archery had been his life. He was lucky enough that their school actually offered archery as a class. It at least guaranteed him one A each semester.

"Oh, speaking of archery…" Natasha lifted her hand to her neck and showed him the delicate silver chain that hung there.

"Oh my God." He blushed when he recognized the necklace to be the one he'd given her before she'd moved. "I can't believe you actually kept that."

"I wear it all the time." She informed him. "It goes with practically everything."

"It's official then. I have extraordinary taste." He said proudly.

"Whoa now, let's not get carried away…" She laughed.

"Bitch." Clint said before playfully jabbing her in the side with his finger.

"Shit!" She giggled, pulling away from him so he couldn't do it again.

"Never forget that I know where your secret tickle spot is." He warned her.

Natasha smiled and looked as though she was going to say something when Bobbi suddenly ran up and grabbed his arm.

"Hello sweetie." She greeted him before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Hey babe." Clint replied. "Why weren't you at lunch today?"

"I had to make up a quiz in Pre-Cal. It _sucked_." She whined.

"I'm sure you did fine." He assured her.

"Yeah right. You know I suck at math." Bobbi rolled her eyes.

"Oh, right, where are my manners." Clint said when he realized Natasha was staring at them with wide eyes. "Bobbi, this is Natasha. She's a really good friend of mine."

"Hi." Bobbi greeted her with a friendly smile.

"Natasha, this is Bobbi, my girlfriend."

Natasha's mouth fell open as an amused look formed in her eyes.

"You have a _girlfriend_?"

"Yes." Clint blushed. "What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. I'm just a bit shocked, that's all." She shook her head.

"Why?" Bobbi interjected.

"Well, the last time I saw him he wasn't exactly a social butterfly." Natasha explained.

"Things have changed." Clint shrugged.

"So they have." She agreed.

"Well, I need to get to my next class. I'll see you later." Bobbi said, kissing him on the cheek before walking away.

"See ya." He gave her a small wave goodbye then returned his attention to Natasha. "We should probably get to class as well."

"Mhm." She mumbled, walking alongside Clint until they reached their Physics classroom.

"Well, here we are." He said as he guided her inside. "Welcome to AP Physics."

"Are there assigned seats?" Natasha asked.

"Nope. We pretty much sit where we want." He told her, picking a chair near the back of the class and gesturing for her to take the one next to him.

She happily obliged and set her stuff down before turning to face him.

"So, how have things been?"

"Fine." He shrugged. "I've been struggling with some school stuff, but I think I'll be able to maintain a B-average this year."

"And what about things at home?" She pressed.

"Everything's good." He assured her. "In fact, I'd say things are the best they've been in a while."

"That's great." Natasha said with relief. "So you're dad's doing better then?"

"A lot better. We've actually become pretty close now that he's stopped. It's been pretty cool." Clint said with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear that." She said meaningfully.

Before either of them could get another word out, Tony sauntered into the room and plopped down in the chair that was in front of Clint.

"Red, you didn't tell me you had Calvert fourth period." He smirked. "So in addition to being a math whiz, you're also a physics genius."

"Hardly." She rolled her eyes. "I just took the classes so I'd have a more impressive transcript. I actually hate both subjects."

"I see." Stark nodded.

"Good afternoon everyone." Mr. Calvert's voice interrupted their conversation.

The class fell silent as their teacher entered the room and began writing things on the board.

"Please complete these equations while I come around and check your homework."

"Here, you can use my notes for the warm-up." Clint whispered, handing Natasha his notes.

"Thanks." She said gratefully.

"Mr. Barton, I hope you have a good reason for speaking when you're supposed to be working." Mr. Calvert called him out.

"I was just lending my notes to the new student, sir." He informed him.

"Oh, yes, I completely forgot." Mr. Calvert made his way over to where Natasha was sitting. "Welcome to AP Physics Ms…"

"Romanoff." She finished his sentence for him.

"Well, Ms. Romanoff, I don't have a text book for you today, so you can use this classroom copy for now. If you need any help, feel free to ask. I'm sure Mr. Barton would be more than willing to assist you." He told her.

"Thank you sir." She smiled convincingly so that Mr. Calvert would continue checking the other students' homework before giving Clint one of her rare genuine smiles.

He smiled back, wishing that school was over so they could talk more. There were still _so_ many things he wanted to tell her…

* * *

When the bell finally rang Natasha gave an audible sigh of relief. Just as she had in AP Calculus, she had struggled to keep up with Mr. Calvert's lesson.

"Don't worry," Clint assured her as they walked out of the room. "Everything will start to click once you get into the swing of things."

"It better." She shook her head. "Because if it doesn't, I'm screwed."

"Hey, Clint!" A girl's voice called out from behind them.

They looked over their shoulders and found Bobbi chasing after them.

"Hey." He greeted her once she'd caught up, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. "What's up?"

"Nothing much. What's up with you?" She replied with a giggle.

Natasha felt like rolling her eyes. She hated when girls tried to act all cutesy for their boyfriends. It was so…gross.

"Oh, I meant to tell you earlier, I'm walking home today so I don't need a ride." He told her.

"Why would you want to walk? Isn't it nearly ten blocks to your place?" Bobbi asked in confusion.

"Yeah, but I figured I'd walk Natasha home since it's her first day back and all." Clint shrugged.

"Well that's awfully sweet of you." She said with a curious glance towards Natasha.

"You don't have to do that, Clint. You know I can get home just fine on my own." Natasha told him when she noticed the peculiar looks she was getting from Bobbi.

"I don't mind." He insisted. "Plus it will give us a chance to catch up."

"You know, I could just give you _both_ a ride." Bobbi offered.

"Really Bobs, it's fine. I don't want to inconvenience you." Clint turned her down.

"It's no problem." She continued to insist. "Just tell me where to go."

"Honestly, I'd rather walk." Natasha chimed in. "Thanks anyways though."

"Another time babe." He gave her one final kiss on the lips before turning to follow Natasha out of the school. "I'll text you later."

"Okay." Bobbi mumbled in disappointment, staring after them as they left her behind.

"That was awkward." Natasha commented as soon as they were outside.

"What do you mean?" Clint asked.

"I get the feeling your girlfriend doesn't like me very much."

"What? You guys have barely talked to each other!" He exclaimed.

"Jesus Barton it's just the vibe I got, chill." She threw her hands up innocently.

"Well, what do you think of her?" He asked.

"What do _I _think?" She said thoughtfully. "It's like you said, I've barely spoken to her. I don't think it'd be very fair for me to judge her based on things I don't know."

"What about everyone else? Tony, Bruce, Steve…"

"I like Steve, he's sweet. I didn't really talk to Bruce, Thor, Jane, or Betty much. Pepper and Sharon seem really nice. And Tony is…iffy." Natasha told him.

"So you like them?" Clint asked hopefully.

"They certainly aren't losers."

"Glad to know they meet your criteria." He chuckled.

"How did you even start hanging out with them?"

"Well, it was like Tony said, I was sitting alone at lunch the first day of sophomore year and Pepper came up to me and offered to let me sit with them."

"And what about Bobbi?" Natasha wondered.

"Bobbi is friends with Pepper and Sharon. All three of them are varsity cheerleaders." Clint told her. "You know, I bet they'd let you on the team if you wanted. You'd have to do a late tryout, but I can tell that the girls already like you."

"You're kidding, right?" She laughed. "Do I look like the cheerleader type to you?"

"You do now." He shrugged.

"Thanks but no thanks."

"Okay. Let me know if you change your mind." He nudged her shoulder playfully when she rolled her eyes.

"Not likely." She scoffed.

"If you say so."

"I do say so."

"Fine, I get it." He finally surrendered.

"You know, Steve said I should come to homecoming." She suddenly informed him, attempting to change the subject.

"Damn. You've only been back at school for one day and you've already gotten a date." Clint nodded. "I'm impressed."

"Oh please. Steve didn't ask me to go with him. He just recommended that I stop by. Besides, I'm pretty sure he has another date in mind."

"Let me guess: Sharon?"

"How'd you guess?" Natasha asked with false surprise.

"It is pretty obvious, isn't it?" He sighed. "You know, Tony, Bruce and I all have a bet going about when they're going to finally hook up."

"Really?" She said with interest. "How much is at stake?"

"One-fifty." He told her. "We each contributed fifty bucks. Why, you want in?"

"No, I was just curious." She shrugged. "It's good to know you're spending your time and money so productively."

"Who are you my mother?"

"Shut up." She elbowed him in the shoulder as the finally approached her brownstone. "Well, this is me."

"Hey, I was thinking, we should get together this weekend and do something." Clint suggested.

"That'd be awesome!" Natasha said enthusiastically. "I'll text you later. We can make plans."

"Sounds good." He grinned. "Now give me a hug."

She giggled and set her bag down before wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm _so_ glad you're back."

"Me too." She agreed.

When Clint finally released her she picked up her bag and pulled out her key.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Natasha waved him goodbye.

"Yeah. I'll stop by on my way to school. We can walk together."

"Okay." She nodded as she shoved her key into the door. "Bye."

"Later."

Once he started to walk away she stepped inside her house and shut the door behind her.

* * *

As Clint continued walking towards his own brownstone, he found that he was unable to stop smiling. What had started out as an average, crappy day at school had possibly become one of the best days of his life. Natasha, his best friend in the entire world, was back. He was still having a hard time believing it.

When he finally arrived home Clint went straight to the kitchen to get a snack.

"Hi honey." His mother Edith, who was sitting at the table reading a magazine, greeted him when he walked in.

"Hey." He replied.

"You look like you're in a good mood." She told him, noticing the smile that was still plastered on his face. "Did you have a good day at school?"

"The best." He grinned as he sat down with his mother at the table.

"Really? That's a rare thing to hear, especially from you. What made it so great?" She asked interestedly.

"I saw Natasha today." He blurted out excitedly.

"What!? Natasha is back?" Mrs. Barton exclaimed.

"Yeah. She just randomly showed up at school today and told me that her and her mom have been back for nearly two weeks."

"Who's been back for two weeks?" Mr. Barton asked as he entered the kitchen.

"Clint's friend Natasha, dear." She told him.

"Oh, right. Your little girlfriend." Clint's father chuckled.

"Dad, she was never my girlfriend." Clint muttered in embarrassment.

"Whatever you say son."

"So how's Natasha doing?" Edith wondered.

"She's good as far as I can tell. She's uh…different." He told her.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"I don't know. We're going to get together this weekend so we can catch up."

"That's great." His mother smiled. "Did you introduce her to your new friends?"

"Yeah, and I think she liked them." He nodded.

"Well, I can see why you had such a great day." Edith said happily. "By the way, how did your pre-calculus test go?"

"You know how I was saying I had such a great day?" Clint asked her.

She nodded.

"Let's not spoil it."

And with that, he grabbed his bag off the floor and quickly ran up to his room before either of his parents could ask him anymore questions.

* * *

Natasha sat at the island of her kitchen trying to focus on her calculus homework when the sound of her mother coming home caught her attention.

"Natasha?" Mrs. Romanoff called out from the front of the house.

"I'm in here." She replied.

A few moments later Mrs. Romanoff appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hey!" She said excitedly. "How was your first day back?"

"Better than expected." Natasha said thoughtfully.

"So it wasn't as terrible as you thought it would be?"

"No." She mumbled.

"Well, tell me everything!" Her mother demanded as she took off her jacket and began rummaging through the cabinets for pots and pans.

"Okay. My schedule is pretty good. I've got art first thing, then martial arts, and then AP Calculus and AP Physics."

"That's lucky. You don't have the harder stuff until later." Mrs. Romanoff said while she filled a pot with water. "How does spaghetti sound for dinner?"

"Good." Natasha shrugged.

"So what else made your day good?"

"I made a couple new friends…" She began, "…and ran into an old one."

Mrs. Romanoff gasped.

"You saw Clint today?"

"I did." Natasha grinned.

"And how is he doing?"

"Fine. He's different than he used to be."

"Well, it's been over a year since you've seen him. Things were bound to change." Mrs. Romanoff told her.

"I know, but he's changed a _lot_. He's got all these new friends and a _girlfriend_! He used to be so introverted and shy and now it's like he's a completely different person."

"I bet he probably thinks the same thing about you." She said.

"I wouldn't be surprised. You should have seen his face when he saw what I was wearing." Natasha laughed. "It was priceless."

"So have the two of you gotten all caught up then?"

"Hardly. I think we're going to get together this weekend so we can talk." She informed her.

"That's wonderful. I'm glad you two are getting a chance to reconnect." Mrs. Romanoff smiled. "And I'm especially glad that you had a good day."

"Yeah," Natasha agreed with a small smile. "Me too."

* * *

**So, did you like Clint's reaction? I know that a lot of you were excited for that part so I hope it was good. Please let me know what you thought! Since I got so many reviews for the last chapter I'd like to try and hit 30 reviews for this one. I'm still going to update even if I don't hit that number, but reviews motivate me, just so you know. The next update may not come until the end of next week because I don't doubt that I'll have a lot of homework, as usual. So, until then, TTFN!**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**


	4. Getting To Know You

**C'mon guys! You can review better than that! I know it! I'll update again this time if I get up to 30 reviews. Ya'll gotta motivate me! So here's the new chapter. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 3-Getting to Know You**

The next morning, Natasha walked out of her brownstone to find Clint sitting on the steps waiting for her.

"Well, it's about time." He complained. "I've been sitting out here for nearly ten minutes."

"You could have just knocked on the door like a normal person." She smiled as she took her place by his side and began walking with him.

"Since when have I been normal?" Clint shrugged.

"That's true. You have always been pretty bizarre."

"Glad you understand." He smirked.

"Haven't I always?" Natasha retorted.

"Indeed you have."

"So," She said as she took a sip of her coffee. "About this weekend…"

"Yeah, sorry I didn't text you last night. It kind of slipped my mind." He apologized.

"No worries." She assured him. "I was just wondering if you had any idea what we should do."

"Well, we could grab lunch or something then go for a walk in the park." Clint suggested.

"Ah, just like old times." Natasha smiled at the notion. "An average Saturday."

"Plus, it would give us plenty of time to talk about things." He included.

"Okay, sounds good. Let's discuss details later." She said agreeably.

"Alright." Clint nodded. "So how do you think you did on the physics homework last night?"

"Ugh. Don't remind me." She rolled her eyes. "I'm _so_ going to bomb that class."

"No you won't." He told her.

"What makes you think so?"

"Because, if you ask nicely, I'll tutor you."

"Well then I guess I'll have to practice my 'please' and 'thank you's.'" Natasha laughed.

The two continued their light conversation until they reached the school. They entered the common area and found a spot to stand up against the wall so they could wait for the first bell to ring.

"What's your schedule like?" Natasha asked, realizing that the only class she knew he had was AP Physics fourth period.

"Well, I've got Archery first, then Pre-Calculus, and then English III. And of course, you know I have Physics after lunch." He told her.

"So is archery considered a sport?" She wondered.

"Hell yeah! I've lettered in it already." Clint informed her.

"You can letter in archery?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. You can letter in anything that's categorized as a sport here."

"That's ridiculous." Natasha shook her head.

"It is not. It makes perfect sense." He defended himself.

"Do you do any competitions?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. It's part of our final grade." Clint smiled victoriously.

"Alright, fair enough." She put her hands up in surrender. "So if you're such a big jock where's your letterman jacket?"

"It's in the mail." He shrugged as something over her shoulder caught his eye.

"What?" Natasha turned around to see what he was staring at.

"Shit…" He muttered, looking away as a handsome dark-haired boy walked up to them.

"Hey there." The boy said with a dashing smile. "I don't believe we've met."

"No, I don't think we have." She smiled back as he held out his hand.

"My name is James Barnes. Most people call me Bucky, though."

"I'm-"

"Not interested." Clint suddenly cut in, grabbing her arm before she could raise it to shake his hand.

James turned his attention to Clint and glared at him.

"I thought you already had a girlfriend, Barton."

"Fuck off, Barnes." He glared back.

James continued to stare him down before finally turning back to Natasha.

"I'll see you around." He winked at her as he turned to walk back the way he came.

"Well that was awfully rude of you." She told Clint once James was out of earshot.

"He deserves it." Clint told her.

"Why, what did he do?" She asked curiously.

"He's just an ass. Has been ever since the whole incident that went down last year." He explained.

"What happened?"

"Well, Steve and Barnes used to be really good friends. They were on the football team together during sophomore year and the coach had been readying Steve to be the quarterback for the varsity team when junior year rolled around. The only problem was that Barnes wanted to be the quarterback, so he started using steroids in hopes that he might beat Steve out for the position."

"But he got caught, didn't he?" Natasha guessed.

"He did." Clint confirmed. "By Steve actually. And when Steve found out, obviously he had to tell the coach. Barnes got kicked off the team and suspended for a month."

"Okay, so he did some drugs to do better in football. I understand that that's bad and all, but how does that make him a bad guy?" She asked.

"Let's just say he's always been a bit sour about everything that happened. He thinks he could have played football all the way up through college, maybe even gone pro if Steve hadn't told on him. Now the coach won't even let him be the equipment manager." He shook his head. "Now he takes any chance he gets to make Steve and any of his friend's lives miserable."

"I see." She sighed in disappointment. "That's too bad."

"What do you mean?" Clint asked.

"It's just that he was kind of hot…"

"Wait, what?" He gasped just as the bell sounded, signaling for everyone to begin to move towards their first period class.

"Gotta go. I'll see you at lunch." She shot him a sly smile and waved before turning on her heel and heading for her art class.

* * *

"Kind of _hot_?" Clint muttered to himself as he walked to the shooting range. "He's not _hot_…"

"Who's not hot?" Bobbi suddenly appeared by his side.

"Bucky Barnes." He told her. "What do you think of him?"

"Were I single and in search of a date for homecoming, I'd say he'd be a top contender." She shrugged. "But I've got you, so I don't need to worry about that. Why do you ask?"

"Natasha said he was attractive." He explained as he wrapped and arm around her shoulder.

"Right, I meant to ask about your friend Natasha."

"What about her?" Clint asked.

"Well, she just showed up at school yesterday and suddenly the two of you are best friends." Bobbi narrowed her eyes. "Who is she, exactly?"

"You know, she's Natasha, my best friend since kindergarten. I'm sure I mentioned her to you before."

"I don't ever remember you saying anything about your good friend Natasha." She insisted.

"Are you sure? I talked about her a lot." He tried to remember an instance when he would have talked about his best friend with his girlfriend but was coming up empty handed.

Bobbi shrugged.

"I don't remember."

"I guess I'll have to tell you about her then." Clint smiled. "We can talk at dinner on Thursday."

"Sure." She agreed, leaning in to kiss him before she had to turn onto a different hallway. "See you at lunch."

"See ya." He waved goodbye to her before continuing on to the shooting range.

When he walked inside, he greeted his instructor, Mr. Chisholm, before going to his locker to retrieve his bow.

"Hey Barton." Kate said when she came in shortly after him. "How goes it?"

"Not too bad." He replied with a smile.

"Not too bad, eh? Judging by the look on your face, things must be better than just 'not too bad.'" She observed.

"Fine then, things are pretty damn good." He told her. "Satisfied?"

"Almost." Kate replied as Mr. Chisholm approached them so he could give them instructions. "You'll have to tell me why you're so cheery after class."

"Fine." Clint agreed as Mr. Chisholm addressed the class and told them to start warming up.

* * *

Bobbi made it into her art class just before the tardy bell rang and quickly found her seat next to Sharon.

"Cutting it a bit close I see." Sharon commented.

"I wanted to talk to Clint some before I saw him at lunch, so I took the long way around." She told her.

"What did you want to talk to him about?"

"Her." Bobbi glanced over her shoulder at the redhead that was sitting next to Steve across the room.

"Who, Natasha?" Sharon asked. "What about her?"

"I saw her with Clint before fourth period yesterday, and then he was very adamant about walking her home instead of just letting me drive the two of them, so I was just a little curious as to who she was." Bobbi explained.

"Didn't Clint ever tell you about her?"

"He thought he did, but I honestly don't remember him mentioning her once." She shook her head. "What do you know about her?"

"I know that she was Clint's best friend before we met him. They were in elementary school together, all the way up until their freshman year of high school before she moved." Sharon told her.

"So were they always just friends?" Bobbi wondered.

"He never said that they were anything more than that. But even if they were, why would it matter? He's got you now."

"I know. I was just curious is all." She sighed.

"I think we're going to start working on a group project today. Maybe we could try and team up with Steve and Natasha, that way you could get to know her. She's really nice." Sharon suggested.

"Good idea." Bobbi agreed as Mrs. Pierce called the class to order.

* * *

As soon as Mrs. Pierce had finished explaining the new group project they'd be starting today, she instructed the class to get into groups of four. Before Steve and Natasha could even move, Sharon and Bobbi had run over to them and grabbed a couple of seats.

"The four of us can be a group." Sharon said excitedly.

Natasha glanced at Steve and found him smiling happily.

"Sounds good." He said cheerfully.

"This is okay with you, Natasha, isn't it?" She asked politely.

"Of course." Natasha assured her.

The group quickly began to gather the needed materials for the assignment, talking casually all the while.

"So Natasha," Bobbi got her attention. "I sort of missed out on introductions yesterday and Clint hasn't said much about you. Care to fill me in?"

"Uh, sure." She agreed. "What do you want to know?"

"Just the basics. Where you moved here from, how you know Clint…" Bobbi trailed off.

"Well, I moved here from Russia. I used to live their when I was little, but we moved here after my father got a better job. But now my mother got a promotion with the company she works for so we had to move back." Natasha told her.

"That's cool. And how do you know Clint?"

"After I moved here the first time I was put into Clint's kindergarten class. We've been best friends ever since." She explained.

"Wow. You must know him pretty well." Bobbi said with a hint of what sounded like anxiety in her voice.

"Yeah, I do. But don't worry, we've never been more than friends. It's not like that between us." Natasha said, not wanting to give her the wrong idea.

"Oh, I don't doubt that." She gave her a sweet smile before beginning on her part of the project.

Natasha narrowed her eyes.

_"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"_ She thought to herself.

The two girls didn't talk to one another for the rest of the period, not that Natasha minded. The vibe she had that Bobbi didn't care for her much was even stronger now than it had been the day before, and she couldn't help but think it had something to do with her relationship with Clint.

* * *

When lunch finally rolled around Natasha felt like she was dying. She hadn't gotten any of her Calculus homework right and she'd gotten pinned twice in Martial Arts.

"Don't worry." Pepper assured her as they headed to the cafeteria. "It's only your second day. Soon enough you'll get into the routine and everything will start to come more easily."

"I hope you're right." Natasha sighed.

As they approached their lunch table she noticed that Clint was already there and that the seat she'd sat in yesterday was now occupied by Bobbi.

"Hello ladies." Tony greeted them. Sharon took her seat by Steve and Pepper sat down next to Tony, leaving Natasha to sit in the only remaining seat at the head of the table.

The whole group fell into a stream of steady, meaningless chatter while she sat quietly and picked at the lunch she'd brought from home.

"Hey Nat, you're being awfully quiet." Clint commented as soon as he got Bobbi to stop talking.

"I've got a lot on my mind." She shrugged.

"Well allow me to help fix that." Tony suddenly chimed in. "My parents are leaving next Tuesday to fly to Italy for a technology conference. I'll have the Penthouse all to myself till Thursday, so I was thinking about having a little shindig on Wednesday."

Everyone nodded and voiced their enthusiasm at the idea. Well, everyone except Natasha.

"What do you say, Red? You in?"

"You said _next_ Wednesday?" She asked.

"Yeah, why? Does that not work for you?" Tony raised an eyebrow. "You've only just moved here. You can't already have plans."

"Well, I do. I've got this thing with my mom…" Natasha started to explain.

"Can't you get out of it?" Clint asked hopefully.

"No. Not in a million years." She shook her head.

"Why not? What are you doing?"

"We're attending a memorial service. Next Wednesday is 9/11."

"Is it?" Tony said thoughtfully. "I didn't realize that…"

"Did you and your mom know someone in the Towers, Natasha?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah. My mom knew him better than I ever did, but he was practically part of the family." Natasha told them with a distant look in her eyes.

"Well damn. I hadn't known what day it was." Tony sighed in disappointment. "No worries though, I'll just reschedule. You'll be available sometime in the coming weeks, right?"

"Probably." She shrugged.

"Wait, I didn't know you knew someone in the Towers." Clint suddenly interrupted.

"That's just because I don't talk about it often." Natasha shrugged again, hoping he would just drop it.

"Okay…" He mumbled before his attention was snagged by Bobbi talking about yesterday evening's cheer practice.

Natasha sighed in relief.

A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling for everyone to toss their unfinished lunches and head for fourth period.

"Hey, Nat." Clint grabbed her arm and pulled her back so that she was walking side by side with him as the exited the cafeteria. "I got an idea for lunch this weekend."

"Okay, spill." She smiled.

"Well, I figured that since you've been living in Russia for so long, it's probably been a while since you've had some authentic New York pizza..."

"OH MY GOD YES!" Natasha exclaimed loudly, knowing exactly where he was going with this.

"Alright then, Ray's Pizza it is." He laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders like he had the day before.

As they turned onto the science hall, Natasha caught a glimpse of blonde hair within the mass of students that were rushing towards their next class. When she looked closer, she realized that it was Bobbi and that she was staring, no _glaring_, right at her.

Natasha was taken aback by the coldness in her eyes and found herself staring back at her best friend's girlfriend in confusion. No less than a moment later Bobbi realized that Natasha had seen her so she quickly looked away and ran off towards her fourth period.

Natasha shook her head and decided to brush off what she had seen as her mind playing tricks on her, even though she was pretty positive that wasn't the case…

* * *

"Thank God!" Natasha breathed as the final bell rang, dismissing students from school. She quickly threw her things into her bag and waited for Clint by the door. "C'mon slowpoke, I wanna get out of here."

"I'm coming." He grunted as he slung his own bag over his shoulder.

"So," She started to say something as they walked into the crowded hallway, but she was cut off by Bobbi racing to Clint's side.

"Hey sweetie." She flashed him a smile and pecked his cheek. "Are you riding home with me today?"

"Actually, I was going to walk again." He told her.

"But you walked yesterday." Bobbi said in confusion.

"I know. I was planning on walking the rest of the week." Clint shrugged. "Is that a problem?"

"Of course not. I was just offering." She said, shooting Natasha a sly glance.

"Okay, well I'll see you tomorrow then." He kissed her gently on the lips before waving goodbye and walking out with Natasha.

"How long have you two been together?" Natasha asked once they were outside.

"Since the beginning of summer, why?" Clint replied.

"Just wondering." She shrugged, trying to think of a way to change the subject before he could ask why she was so curious. "You know, my mom should be home when we get to my place. You should stop in and say hi."

"Sure." He smiled at the idea. "Your mom is great."

"She sure is something." Natasha laughed and shook her head.

"Speaking of moms, I should let you know that _my_ mother wants to have you over for dinner sometime soon." Clint said. "Barney will be home this weekend, so she was thinking Sunday if that works for you."

"Sunday sounds good. I'll check with my mom though, just to be sure." She told him as they walked up the steps to her brownstone.

Natasha let herself in and held the door for Clint to enter behind her.

"Mom? I'm home!" She hollered down the hall.

"I'm in the kitchen, dear!"

She led Clint to the kitchen where they found Mrs. Romanoff sitting at the island with a magazine and a bottle of sparkling water.

"How was school?" She asked, looking up when they walked in. "Oh, Clint honey! I was hoping you'd stop by soon."

"Hey Mrs. R." Clint smiled as she hopped down from her barstool and hugged him.

"Wow you've gotten tall!"

"Hey mom, Clint says that Mrs. Barton wants to have me over for dinner on Sunday." Natasha informed her.

"Is that so? Well, it just so happens that a few people from the office invited me out to dinner so we can discuss an upcoming project that same day, so that would work out perfectly." Mrs. Romanoff smiled at the convenience.

"Okay then, I'll let my mom know." Clint said happily. "Speaking of my mom, I told her I'd go home right after school. I just wanted to stop in and say hi."

"Thanks for the thought. Stop by again soon, okay?"

"Sure thing." He promised.

"I'll walk you out." Natasha followed him back down the hall until they reached the door.

"See you tomorrow." Clint said, giving her a one armed hug.

"Later." She smiled, watching him walk down the stairs and down the street until he was out of sight. Once he was gone she returned to the kitchen and took a seat next to her mom.

"So," Mrs. Romanoff nudged her daughter. "Clint…"

"What about him?"

"He got pretty cute."

"Oh my God!" Natasha covered her face with her hands. "You did _not_ just say that!"

"What? He's a good looking young man." Her mother raised her eyebrows. "Do you not think so?"

"I'm not going to answer that!" She exclaimed.

"Why not? There's nothing wrong with finding a guy attractive." Mrs. Romanoff assured her.

"There is when that _guy_ just so happens to be my best friend!"

"Okay, okay." She put her hands up. "I surrender."

"Thank you." Natasha sighed gratefully. "That was starting to get awkward."

"I was just saying…"

"Yeah, I know what you were saying." She sighed. "Let's just move on."

"Fine." Her mother hopped off her stool and moved over to the pantry. "What would you like for dinner?"

As soon as the topic changed, Natasha did her best to forget about all the things her mother had said about her best friend. That was something she was definitely happy about, especially because she found that she agreed with her…

* * *

**I'm. So. TIRED! I've been working on this all day since I won't have any time the rest of the week to write and now I'm exhausted! Even though I took a break to watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.! How amazing is that show? It's my new fav! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter! I didn't get nearly as many reviews last chapter than I did on the one before. I know ya'll can do better than that, so prove me right! I've got a review goal below. PLEEEEAAASSSE REVIEW!**

**REVIEW GOAL=30! **


	5. Weekend Plans

**Sorry for the delay guys! Here's the new chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 4-Weekend Plans**

The rest of the week passed slowly for Natasha. She was completely swamped with homework that was supposed to help her get caught up, but all it was really doing was stressing her out. The only thing that helped her get through her first week back at school was the reminder of her plans with Clint over the weekend. So, when Saturday finally rolled around, Natasha was more than a little excited.

She hopped out of bed that morning at 9:00am and promptly showered and dressed in a sweater, skinny jeans, and a pair of knock-off Ugg boots. She skipped down the stairs and entered the kitchen, digging through the pantry until she found a granola bar. Munching on her breakfast hungrily, Natasha poured some water into the coffee maker and began brewing a pot of her favorite blend of Starbucks coffee.

"You're up early." Her mother commented when she came into the kitchen.

"It's not _that_ early."

"It's nearly 10:00, dear. For you, that's early."

"Well, I needed to get ready. Clint will be here at 10:30." Natasha told her.

"Ah, that's right. You two are having lunch today."

"Mhm." She mumbled, preparing her coffee just the way she liked it before taking a sip.

"What time do you think you'll be home?"

"Not sure. I'd say late afternoon if I had to guess, though."

"So I should start dinner around five?" Mrs. Romanoff guessed.

"Sure." Natasha shrugged.

The sound of the doorbell interrupted her and her mother's conversation.

"That's him." She said knowing before pecking her mother on the cheek and grabbing her bag off the counter. "I'll see you later."

"Have fun." Mrs. Romanoff called after her.

Natasha opened the door and found Clint standing right outside.

"Hey." She smiled, closing the door behind her as she joined him on the porch.

"You ready?" He asked.

"Yep. Let's go."

Side by side, they walked down the stairs and headed down the sidewalk.

"We've got a few hours before lunch." Clint said as he checked his watch. "Do you want to go to the park first, or do you want to do something else?"

"Let's go to the park. I've been _dying_ to go ever since I got back, but haven't had the chance." Natasha raved.

"Okay. The park it is." He affirmed.

"So, did you finish the physics homework?"

"Yeah it was easy." He shrugged.

"Oh my God, _please_ help me!" She begged, grabbing his arm and shaking him. "I have no idea what I'm doing."

"I suppose I could help you out." Clint said thoughtfully. "But only because you asked nicely."

"Thank you." Natasha sighed. "Honestly, I think you might be my saving grace in this class."

"I still don't understand why you signed up for AP Physics when you hate physics." He shook his head.

"I'm trying to get into a good school."

"Well, that's not going to happen if you fail you're classes."

"I'm not going to fail my classes because _you_ are going to help me." She nudged him.

"So you're pretty much saying that your grade is in my hands."

"Yep. So if I _do_ fail then I have someone to blame it on." Natasha grinned.

"Great…" Clint said sarcastically. "Do you want to get together tomorrow before dinner to work on it then?"

"Sure!" She replied enthusiastically.

"My mom is thrilled that you're coming over, by the way. It's been a while since we had someone stay for dinner."

"Really? Don't you ever have Bobbi over for dinner?"

"Uh, yeah, about that…" He mumbled with discomfort.

"Oh my God, you've never invited her over have you?" Natasha gaped. "How long have you two been dating again?"

"Since the beginning of the summer." He said sheepishly.

"Oh Clint." She shook her head in disapproval.

"Hey, don't judge me. The timing has never been right."

"So basically, you're inviting me to dinner with your parents before your girlfriend…" She said in confusion.

"Well, technically yes, but it's different with you. We're friends and I've known you a lot longer than I've known Bobbi…" He trailed off.

"What are you so afraid of?"

"What makes you think I'm afraid?"

"C'mon Clint, there has to be a reason as to why you've failed to invite your girlfriend to dinner with your parents after more than three months of dating." Natasha said knowingly. "So what is it? Are you afraid your parents won't like her?"

"More like the other way around." He finally admitted. "Bobbi comes from a _very_ good family, and I guess I'm just worried that me and my family won't live up to her expectations."

"That's ridiculous." She shook her head.

"What makes you think so?"

"She's dating you, Barton! There's a reason for that, and it's not because of where you come from. It's because of who you are."

"Wow, Nat." Clint mumbled. "That's really nice of you to say."

"Well, I mean every word. Bobbi's really lucky to have you."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Natasha smiled.

For the next few hours, Clint and Natasha casually strolled through Central Park, only stopping when they reached their favorite spot halfway across Bow Bridge.

"So tell me about Russia. What was it like?" Clint asked as the stared down at the shimmering water.

"It was cold." She told him. "Cold and dreary."

"Sounds like it suits you." He chuckled.

"Shut up." Natasha rolled her eyes. "Anyways, me and my mom lived in a two-bedroom apartment in Moscow. It was a few miles away from the high school I went to."

"Did you have any friends?" He wondered.

"A few." She shrugged. "But they were just your typical overly cheerful girls who wanted nothing more than to be my new BFF."

"Do you still talk to any of them?"

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Because, it's not like they were the closest friends I've ever had."

"So, they weren't me?" He smirked.

"No, they _definitely_ weren't you."

Clint laughed.

"I'm flattered you've yet to find someone to replace me."

"You're a hard one to replace." She smiled.

"I take that as a compliment."

"And so you should."

Clint shoved away from the edge of the bridge and grabbed her arm.

"C'mon. Let's go get some lunch. I'm starved."

Natasha happily complied, following Clint the rest of the way across the bridge and towards the street. They walked until reached Ray's Pizza and stepped inside, getting in the takeout line.

"You want straight up cheese?" He asked knowingly.

"You remembered." She nodded, impressed by his good memory.

"I'm good like that."

"Right." Natasha rolled her eyes as they approached the front of the line.

Clint put in there order and they continued making light jabs at each other until their pizza was ready. They then left Ray's and returned to the park, making their way to Bethesda Terrace so they could eat their lunch.

"So, what have you missed most about New York?" Clint wondered as they found a seat on the terrace.

"Everything." She sighed. "The noise, the people, the rush."

"Damn." He shook his head and laughed, taking a bite of his pizza.

"What?"

"It's like you haven't changed at all."

"I've changed some." She informed him.

"How so?"

"I started taking ballet."

"What!?" Clint exclaimed. "You in pink pointe shoes and a frilly tutu?"

"Yeah." She shrugged. "My mom convinced me to give it a go and I loved it."

"Wait, I'm still talking to Natasha, right?"

Natasha laughed and polished off her second piece of pizza when Clint's phone suddenly buzzed.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." He teasingly scolded her, reading the text message on his phone. "It's Bobbi."

"Oh." She muttered.

"Hey, you like her, right?" He asked with genuine curiosity. "You think she's nice?"

"Yeah, of course I do." Natasha assured him.

"You're lying."

"Am not."

"You can't lie to me, Nat." He reminded her. "Why don't you like her?"

"Because she doesn't like me." She sighed.

"That's not true." Clint waved his hand in dismissal. "Bobbi thinks you're great."

"Really? Has she said so?" Natasha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, no, not exactly…" He trailed of as his phone buzzed three more times in succession. "Shit."

"What?"

"Bobbi says she needs me and that it's important." He sighed.

"Then go." She shrugged. "It must be urgent."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, go ahead. I'm going to see you tomorrow anyways."

"Thanks." He grinned and gave her a quick hug before turning to leave. "Oh, and be at my place around four tomorrow instead of six so we can do homework."

"You got it." Natasha waved. "See ya."

She watched him run off towards the street until she could no longer see him, then proceeded to finish off her last piece of pizza before closing up the pizza box with the remaining slices inside. She was just about to make her way home a few hours before she'd planned when a tap on her shoulder caused her to stop.

"I thought I recognized you." A friendly voice told her when she turned around.

"James." She smiled at the handsome boy that stood before her. "Hi."

"Hey." He flashed her a charming smile. "What brings you the park?"

"I was just having lunch with a friend. You?"

"The weather seemed nice so I decided to go for a walk." James told her. "By the way, I don't think I ever got your name. If I remember correctly our introduction was cut short."

"Right, sorry." Her face flushed in embarrassment as she held out her hand. "I'm Natasha."

"It's nice to officially meet you." He said, taking her hand and shaking it. "Were you about to leave?"

"Uh, yeah. I was actually heading home. Lunch got cut short." She said with a smile.

"That's too bad. I was hoping we'd get to talk some." James lowered his eyes in disappointment.

"Well, I'm not really in a hurry…" She mumbled shyly. "I suppose I could stay a while."

"Great!" He said excitedly. "C'mon. Let's go find a place to sit."

* * *

When Clint got to Bobbi's building he took the elevator to her floor and walked quickly down the hall and knocked on her door. She answered almost immediately.

"Clint!" She exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Why? What's wrong?" He asked with concern as she threw her arms around him.

"Come with me, I need your help." Bobbi grabbed his hand, dragging him through the door and down the hall to her room.

"What's going on?"

"I've reached a dilemma." She sighed, throwing open the door to her room to reveal clothes scattered across her floor and bed.

"Damn!" Clint gasped. "It looks like your closet threw up!"

"Now is not the time to be making jokes." Bobbi said seriously. "I have a _real_ problem!"

"Okay, what is it?"

"I can't decide what dress to wear to homecoming." She pouted. "Help me choose?"

"Really?" He asked incredulously. "You made come all the way here so I could help you decide what dress to wear?"

"Um, yes." Bobbi shrugged.

"C'mon, Bobs, I thought this was something important." Clint said, immediately regretting it when he saw the look on his girlfriend's face.

"There is not one thing about what I wear to homecoming that's unimportant." She crossed her arms defiantly.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I was kind of in the middle of something." He mumbled.

"What were you doing?"

"I was at lunch with Natasha."

"Of course you were." Bobbi scoffed.

"Do you have a problem with her?" Clint asked.

"No, why do you ask?"

"No reason." He shrugged. "It's just that she's under the impression that _you_ aren't too fond of her."

"I haven't done anything to her if that's what you're implying." She narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not implying anything. I'm just telling you what she told me."

"And I'm telling you that I don't have a problem with her." She said definitively.

"That's good. This just means that you guys are giving each other mixed signals and you need to get to know one another. You should invite her to do something with Pepper and Sharon. Have a girl's night or something." He offered.

"Well, I am going with Pepper and Sharon to go dress shopping next week in case I decide I need something new." Bobbi said thoughtfully. "I suppose we could invite Natasha."

"That's a great idea." Clint smiled and pecked her on the cheek. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now, onto more pressing matters." She walked over to her bed and picked up two dresses the held them up to herself. "What do you think? Red or blue?"

Before he could answer there was a buzzing in his pocket.

"It's my mom. She says my brother just got home." He said. "I need to go."

"But what about my dress?" Bobbi asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." He gave her a quick kiss. "I'll text you!" Clint called over his shoulder as he rushed from his girlfriend's apartment so he could go home.

* * *

"Damnit! Dude you're _so_ cheating!" Clint exclaimed as he sat playing X-box with his brother the next day.

"Just because you're losing doesn't mean I'm cheating." Barney rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right." Clint muttered before checking the time. "Okay, let's hurry this up. It's almost four."

"So, who exactly is coming to dinner tonight?" Barney asked as he continued massacre his little brother in Call of Duty.

"I told you earlier." Clint reminded him.

"No you didn't." He retorted.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "For the _second_ time, Natasha is coming over at four so I can help her with homeworkbefore dinner."

Barney suddenly paused the game and took the X-box controller from Clint's hands.

"Dude, what the hell?"

"Did you say _Natasha_? As in the girl you had a thing for before she moved to Russia?"

"What? I never had a thing for Natasha!" He exclaimed.

"Bullshit." Barney shook his head.

"Well, even if I _did_ have a thing for her it wouldn't matter now. I have a girlfriend."

"Ah yes, your mysterious girlfriend with a boy's name." He smirked.

"For the last time, her full name is Barbara. She goes by Bobbi for short." Clint huffed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Barney waved him off. "I just want to know when we're gonna get to meet this girl."

"Soon." Clint assured him. "When the time is right."

Just then, the doorbell sounded and he jumped to his feet.

"She's here." He announced.

"I'll get it." Barney hopped up and shoved Clint back down onto the floor before making a dash for the front door.

"Hey!" Clint picked himself up in time to hear his brother answer the door.

"Hey there Natasha. Come on in." He said politely. "Oh Clint! Your girlfriend is here!"

"Shut up!" Clint exclaimed, shoving Barney out of the way and pulling Natasha towards the stairs.

"Nice to see you again, Barney." Natasha said over her shoulder before following Clint up to his room.

"Keep the door open you two…" Barney teased.

Once they were safely upstairs Clint shut the door and huffed in irritation.

"Good to see your brother hasn't changed much." Natasha laughed.

"Yeah, he's still just as charming as he was when you left."

"I can see that." She laughed again as she pulled out her homework.

"Okay, so what do you need help with?" He asked, taking a seat next to her.

"Umm, this." She gestured to the entire worksheet.

"Alright, let's just start at the beginning." Clint sighed.

He and Natasha sat and worked on her physics homework all the way up until his mother called them down for dinner.

"Kids! Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Barton hollered up the stairs.

"Kay!" He called back.

"Thanks for the help." Natasha said as she stuffed her nearly completed homework back in her bag.

"Any time." Clint replied, opening the door so she could exit the room first.

Once they were downstairs they made their way to the kitchen and each grabbed a seat at the table.

"Hope you like spaghetti." Edith said before setting a large serving bowl of noodles on the table.

"It looks delicious." Natasha smiled.

"Something smells good." Mr. Barton commented as he entered the kitchen. He took his seat at the head of the table and had begun to shovel large spoonfuls of pasta onto his plate when he noticed the extra person at the table. "Well, well. If it isn't little miss Natasha."

"Hey Mr. Barton." She greeted him.

"How ya been, sweetheart?"

"Good, thanks. And you?"

"I'm doing alright." He told her.

"Clint, where's your brother?" Edith suddenly asked.

"How should I know?" Clint shrugged.

"Barney!" She yelled. "Dinner is ready!"

"I'm right here." Barney suddenly appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. "Calm down, crazy lady, or you'll pop something you might need."

"Just go sit down." She ordered.

Barney took a seat followed by his mother and everyone began to eat.

"So Natasha," Edith began. "How have you been since you moved back to New York?"

"Great." Natasha enthused. "I really missed the city."

"It must be really different from Moscow." She guessed.

"It is."

"Nat told me that she started taking ballet." Clint chimed in.

"Really?" Mrs. Barton said in surprised. "I never pictured you as a dancer."

"Neither did I." Natasha admitted. "But once I got into it I fell in love."

"Do you plan to continue dancing now that you've moved back?"

"Yes. My mother and I are looking for a program for me to join." She explained.

"Well, let us know if you do any performances. We'd all love to come." Edith smiled.

"I'll be sure to do that." Natasha agreed.

For the rest of dinner Clint's family made small talk with her, asking her how she was liking school and how it was different from Russia. They wanted to know how her mother was doing and how her job was going, and Natasha happily answered them.

Once 8:00 rolled around she finally glanced at her phone and realized what time it was.

"Wow, I didn't know it was so late." She said with a furrowed brow. "I should probably get going."

"I'll walk you out." Clint offered, shoving away from the table and following Natasha towards the door.

"Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Barton. It was delicious."

"We're glad you could make it, dear." Edith pulled her in for a hug. "Come back any time."

"I just might take you up on that." Natasha grinned. "I'll see you all soon."

"Bye Natasha. Be careful getting home." Mr. Barton said with a wave.

"I will, thanks." She waved back before finally reaching the door and stepping out into the chilly September evening.

"See you tomorrow." Clint said.

"Hey," She put her foot in the door. "Where's my hug?"

He smiled and drew her in for a friendly embrace.

"Are you gonna catch a cab?"

"Yeah. It's a bit dark to be walking."

"You want me to wait with you till one comes?" He offered.

"No," Natasha said, pointing down the street to a yellow cab that was speeding in their direction. "There's one now."

"Okay. I'll see ya."

"Bye." She waved before hailing the cab.

As soon as he saw that she was safely in the cab he smiled and walked back inside to find Barney smirking and shaking his head at him.

"Yep, there's nothing going on between you two at _all_." He said as Clint walked past him.

"Shut up." He rolled his eyes before brushing past his older brother and ran upstairs.

* * *

**Wow this took long! Sorry, but I had an AP test, a pre-calc quiz and test, a Spanish test, and an ass load of homework that I've had to deal with. But, I did it! So I hope you liked it. It probably didn't seem like it but there was quite a bit of stuff going on in here that will become important later. Please tell me what you thought! I value your opinions more than you know! SO PLEASE REVIEW!** ** Until my next update, TTFN!**


	6. A Homecoming Date

**Damn guys! I'm sorry this took forever! I really have no good excuse other than that I had a whole butt load of school stuff…and I was busy going to see the new Thor movie! If you haven't seen it, go see it! There's a FANTASTIC Avenger cameo ;) and Loki is a boss. That's enough reasons to go see it, right?**

* * *

**Chapter 5-A Homecoming Date **

When Natasha got to school on Monday she immediately made a run for her art class. Her alarm clock hadn't gone off this morning so she was running really late. She made it into Mrs. Pierce's room just before the bell rang.

"Cutting it a little close today." Steve commented as she took her seat next to him.

"Yeah." Natasha said breathlessly. "I got a late start."

"How was your weekend?" He asked. "Clint said the two of you hung out."

"We did." She nodded. "On Saturday we had lunch in the park, and when he left I met…" She trailed off, remembering what Clint had said about Steve and Bucky's past.

"You met who?" Steve was only half paying attention.

"Uh, James Barnes."

"Bucky?" He said with new interest.

"Yeah, I'd sort of met him last week and then I saw him in the park after Clint left so we talked for a while. He was really nice."

"Really…" Steve furrowed his brow.

"Clint said that you all don't really get along with him." Natasha told him.

"No, we don't. Not anymore." He said. "He's not the same guy I used to know. And I have no right to tell you who you can and can't hang out with, but if you're going to hang out with _him_, just be careful."

She wasn't sure how to respond to his sudden show of concern, so she simply nodded and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I will."

"Alright everyone, get in your groups." Mrs. Pierce suddenly ordered, interrupting their conversation. "You only have a few days left to complete your projects so I want to see some progress."

The class quickly did as she said and began gathering materials for a full period of work before getting into their groups.

"Good morning." Sharon smiled as she sat down next to Natasha.

"Morning." Natasha smiled back. "How was your weekend?"

"Uneventful." She shrugged. "You?"

"I, uh…" Natasha was about to tell Sharon about the time she spent with Clint but stopped herself when she saw that Bobbi was approaching. "I hung out with my mom. We spent Sunday morning searching for a ballet studio."

"I didn't know you danced. Did you find a place?"

"Yeah, I registered for lessons at a studio in midtown. I take my first class on Thursday."

"That's so cool!" Sharon told her.

"What's cool?" Bobbi asked as she sat down.

"Natasha does ballet and she signed up to take classes at a studio in midtown." Sharon quickly explained.

"Oh. Fun." Bobbi said apathetically.

Natasha glanced at Sharon and saw her shrug, looking just as puzzled as she was about her friend's attitude.

"What did you do this weekend, Bobbi?" Natasha asked, trying to be friendly.

"Well, Clint came over Saturday afternoon and we…well, let's just say things go pretty intense." The blonde shot the two girls a sly smile.

Sharon rolled her eyes and Natasha felt her face flush. She did _not_ want to know whatever it was that Clint did with Bobbi when they were alone together.

"But after that the rest of the weekend was pretty dull." She sighed. "Natasha, Clint says the two of you had lunch on Saturday. How was that?"

"It was great. It reminded me of how things were before I moved." Natasha told her.

"That's nice." Bobbi smiled. "Did you two used to do things like that often?"

"Occasionally." She lied.

"Well, I'm glad you two had fun." Bobbi told her before focusing her attention on her part of the art project.

Natasha stared at her in confusion. She seemed to be a lot friendlier today than she had been last week.

_"Clint must have said something."_ She decided, figuring that there must be a reason for Bobbi's change in attitude. Not that Natasha was complaining. She'd rather Bobbi pretend to like her than make it obvious that she didn't…

* * *

That day at lunch, Clint sat next to Bobbi just like he always did and listened to her talk endlessly about things that were happening in her life.

"So, I ultimately decided that the blue dress was a little too bold for a homecoming dance, which is why I think I'm just going to buy a new one when we go out tomorrow." She told everyone.

"Oh, but I really liked the blue one." Pepper told her.

"I don't know, I just feel like I need something fresh." Bobbi said as she turned to Clint. "After all it is our first dance together. What do you think?"

"I think you should do whatever makes you happy." He shrugged.

"Then I'll get a new dress." She finally decided.

Clint glanced across the table at Natasha and found her mindlessly picking at her food, not really contributing to the conversation.

"Hey, Bobs?" He whispered in his girlfriend's ear. "Have you asked Natasha if she wants to go dress shopping yet?"

"No, not yet." Bobbi replied.

"Well now is as good a time as ever." He told her.

"Okay, okay." She sighed before clearing her throat. "Hey Natasha?"

Natasha practically jumped as she was pulled from her own little world.

"Yes?" She replied.

"Would you like to come dress shopping with Sharon, Pepper and me tomorrow?" Bobbi asked.

"Dress shopping?" Natasha wrinkled her nose and glanced at Clint. "That's not really my thing…"

He gave her a serious look and kicked her leg under the table.

"But, I'd love to come. Thank you." She said with a clenched jaw.

"Great! We'll be leaving from school tomorrow so bring some cash." Bobbi told her with a smile.

Natasha smiled back and nodded before returning her attention to her lunch.

When the bell rang everyone quickly gathered their things before running off to their fourth periods.

"I'm giving you a ride home today, right?" Bobbi asked with raised eyebrows.

"Um, yeah. I guess." Clint shrugged.

"Okay! I'll see you after class!" She leaned in and pecked him on the lips, then rushed out of the cafeteria.

He stared after her for a moment and smiled as Natasha came up and punched his shoulder.

"Ow! What the hell?"

"That's for kicking me." She grumbled.

"Oh, c'mon. Bobbi was trying to be nice and you were totally shutting her down. I just want the two of you to be friends." Clint defended himself.

"You _know_ how much I hate shopping." Natasha whined.

"I know, but this could be a chance for the two of you to really get to know each other. _Please_ just go. For me?" He pleaded.

"Fine." She growled, crossing her arms.

"Be optimistic, Nat." He smiled and nudged her shoulder. "Maybe you'll find the perfect dress for the homecoming dance."

"Oh please. I don't even think I'm going." She rolled her eyes.

"Why not?"

"I don't have a date."

"You don't need a date." He told her. "You can just hang out with us."

"Yeah, you and your _dates_." She reminded him.

"If you're so concerned with going with a date then why don't you just ask someone?" Clint asked as they entered their physics class.

"Who would I ask?"

"Whoever you want. Anyone would be lucky to go with you." He said sincerely.

Natasha hid her face as a blush began creeping into her cheeks.

"Thanks." She mumbled as she took a seat.

Clint followed suit and sat down next to her just as their teacher walked in and began class.

"Alright everyone, I hope you did your homework over the weekend because guess what I've got for you?" Mr. Calvert held up a stack of papers. "A pop quiz!"

The entire class groaned in unison, adamantly voicing their protest as the quizzes were passed out.

* * *

"I bombed it. I know I did." Natasha said once the bell had sounded, releasing them from class for the day.

"I'm sure you did fine." Clint said comfortingly. "I did tutor you after all."

"I'm going to fail this class!" She exclaimed, completely ignoring his words of comfort.

"You know what I like most about you?" He asked. "You're optimistic outlook on _everything_."

"Shut up Clint, this is serious." She sighed.

"I know, and I _promise _that I'll help you whenever you need me to." He told her.

"Thanks." She said appreciatively. "Are you ready to go?"

"Actually Bobbi is supposed to take me home today." He said. "She could probably give you a ride if you'd like."

"No thanks. I'd much rather walk." Natasha denied his offer.

"But we pass right by your place." He persisted.

"Really Clint, it's fine. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved goodbye before quickly turning to exit the school.

As soon as she'd reached the sidewalk, Natasha looked over her shoulder just to make sure he wasn't following her and sighed in relief when she didn't see him. She honestly did _not_ feel like going home with Clint and his girlfriend, especially since she constantly felt as though Bobbi was watching her out of the corner of her eye. They could deny it all they want, but she knew that something was up. She just hoped it wouldn't impact her friendship with Clint.

* * *

"Mom? Are you home?" Natasha asked once she'd arrived home.

"In here, sweetie." Her mother's voice replied from the end of the hall.

She walked down the hall and through the French doors of her mother's office and gasped.

"Oh my God, did someone break in?" She asked when she saw the hundreds of papers strewn across the room.

"No, no one broke in." Her mother told her. "I've just been pretty slammed with work."

"Oh." Natasha said in relief as she bent over and picked up a piece of wrinkled paper and handed it to her mother.

"Thanks." She sighed.

"So, are you working on the project you discussed at your dinner last night?"

"Yes, I am." She muttered in frustration. "You are _not_ going to believe what my lovely coworkers did."

"What?" Natasha asked with interest.

"The project they wanted to bring me in on was falling through and they needed someone to take the blame for it. So, since I'm new in this office they asked me to do it."

"And did you?" Her eyes widened.

"I had to. Otherwise I would have made quite a few enemies, and that is _not_ a desirable position to be in." Mrs. Romanoff told her. "So, now that my boss thinks I'm at fault for the screw up, he's asked _me_ to fix it. I need to give the presentation in three weeks."

"That's not fair! It wasn't even your project!" Natasha exclaimed.

"I know, it totally sucks, but that's how this world works." Her mother shrugged.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" She wondered.

"No, just please stay out of my office and be quiet when I'm working from home, okay? I don't mean to sound rude, but I really need to get some work done."

"Okay." Natasha mumbled as she made her way towards the door. "Oh, mom? Before I leave, I was wondering if I could go dress shopping with some girls from school tomorrow."

"Sure sweetie." Mrs. Romanoff nodded. "Shopping for homecoming?"

"Yeah, although I'm probably not going to buy anything."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't even think I'm going to homecoming."

"Don't you have a date?" Her mother asked in surprise.

"No one has asked me." Natasha shrugged.

"Why don't you just go with Clint?"

"Oh my God, mom! Are you kidding?" She said in exasperation.

"What? You could go as friends." Mrs. Romanoff said innocently.

"He has a girlfriend." Natasha reminded her as she walked out of her office shaking her head.

* * *

The next day Natasha found herself walking to school alone once again. She managed to arrive on time today and made her way inside to try and find at least one of her friends to hang out with until the bell rang. However, she couldn't find anyone, not even Clint. So, she settled with leaning up against a wall and immersing herself in a game of Angry Birds to wait out the bell.

Natasha had gotten so focused on her game that she almost dropped her phone when she felt someone tap her on the shoulder.

"Waiting for someone?" A familiar voice asked.

She looked up and smiled when she saw James's friendly face staring back at her.

"No, I was just trying to pass the time." She told him. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. I saw you standing over here all by yourself and figured you could use some company." He explained.

"Thanks." She blushed, realizing that she must have looked like a total loner.

"What are you doing?" James asked.

"Playing Angry Birds." Natasha replied with a sheepish smile.

"Nice." He laughed a little before suddenly becoming a little more serious. "Hey, I was actually wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

"Okay, sure." She nodded.

"Forgive me if I'm being too forward, but I really enjoyed talking to you in the park the other day and I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to homecoming with me?" He asked slowly.

"Oh." Her eyes widened.

"I mean, if you were planning on going, that is. I just thought that since you're new you might want to go."

"Wow." She said. She wasn't really sure how to respond. Natasha knew how much the guys didn't like James, but she had yet to find any reason to dislike him. He was attractive, funny, charming, and kind. Sure, he'd made some bad choices in the past, but hasn't everyone?

"You know, if you don't want to go it's okay. I wouldn't mind." James suddenly interrupted her thoughts with a defeated look on his face.

"What? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking." She blushed. "It's not that I don't want to go with you, it's more like you said, I'm not sure if I'm going to go."

"Oh." He gave her a small smile. "That's cool. I should probably start heading to class."

"Wait!" Natasha reached out and grabbed his arm.

He turned back around in confusion, only to become more confused when she held out her phone to him.

"Give me your number. I'll let you know if I decide to go." She told him.

"Sure." James smiled and took her phone so he could insert his information into her contacts. "You can call me any time."

"Okay." Natasha said as she took her phone back, her heart fluttering a bit.

Just then the bell rang and everyone began to run to their first periods.

"I'll see you later." She waved to him before turning towards the art hallway.

"Bye." He responded as she walked away with a smile still plastered on her face.

* * *

The rest of the day passed quickly for Natasha and it was probably because she'd spent less time paying attention to her classes and more time thinking about James and his offer to take her to homecoming. She was so conflicted as to what she should do. She knew that the guys wouldn't be thrilled she was going with him, if she decided to go at all, that is. Then again, James seemed so sweet and appeared to be the exact opposite of the guy Clint had described to her, and she was finding it hard to come up with reasons to turn him down.

This issue kept popping up in Natasha's mind all day and continued to pester her well into the afternoon during her shopping trip with Pepper, Sharon, and Bobbi.

"Hey, Natasha. What do you think of this one?" Sharon pulled her from her thoughts and held up a pale pink floor length dress.

"It's beautiful." Natasha shrugged, only giving it a half glance.

"You've said that about every single dress that we've picked." Pepper told her as she searched through a rack of strapless gowns.

"I think they've all been pretty good." She shrugged again.

"Oh my God, look at this." Sharon suddenly pulled a gorgeous pale green gown from the rack she was browsing in and showed it to her friends. "Natasha, you would look _amazing_ in this!"

"Thanks, but I don't think I'm going to buy anything today."

"What? Why not?" Bobbi asked.

"I'm not sure if I'm even going to homecoming, so I don't want to buy a dress just to return it." Natasha explained.

"Why wouldn't you go? It's not like you wouldn't have a date." Pepper told her, giving her a sly smile. "Rumor has it that James Barnes asked you to go with him this morning."

"How do you know about that?" Natasha was bewildered.

"So it's true then." Pepper's smile grew. "Are you going to tell him yes?"

"I don't know. Maybe." She said as a subtle blush began to creep into her cheeks.

"What's stopping you?" Bobbi asked. "_Please_ don't tell me it's that stupid grudge war that's been raging between him and the guys since last year."

"Clint _and_ Steve seem to think that I shouldn't get involved with him." Natasha sighed. "I guess that just makes me a bit hesitant."

"Oh, don't listen to them. They're just pissy because of the stuff that went down last year." Pepper rolled her eyes. "I mean seriously, the guy made a couple of bad choices and that somehow means he deserves to be hated for life?"

"It's ridiculous if you ask me. I haven't heard about him doing anything wrong since the whole steroids incident. From what I understand he's actually a really great person." Sharon chimed in.

"That's what I was thinking. I just wasn't sure what I should do." Natasha told them.

"You know what _I_ think you should do?" Sharon walked over and handed her the pale green gown she'd shown them earlier. "Go try this on, then call James and tell him you'll go to homecoming with him."

Natasha stared at the gown that Sharon was holding and sighed. It _was_ beautiful, and the fact everyone had agreed that they thought James was a decent enough guy was very reassuring.

"Fine." She finally said in defeat, taking the dress from Sharon. "I'll do it."

"That's what I'm talking about!" Pepper cheered.

"You're making the right choice." Bobbi told her.

"I hope so." Natasha mumbled to herself as she went back into the changing rooms to try on her dress.

* * *

**And chapter five is done! I did it guys! And now I'm really tired because it's 2:00am on the East coast… Sorry again that this took so long. I'll try and have the next chapter up sooner, but really there's no guarantees. School is absolutely INSANE this year so I don't have a lot of free time, but I'm trying, I really am! Please don't forget to tell me what you thought! Reviews have been pretty slow the last few chapters and they're what motivate me to keep writing. Basically what I'm saying here is, if you like this story, then review it. Even if it's just one word! REVIEW IT! Okay, that's enough of my begging. Thanks for reading!**

**P.S. I promise things will start to get more exciting soon. I'm just trying to build things up to make them more intense!**


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